商贸零售行业4月社零报告专题：4月社零同比+5.1%，政策效应持续显现

Investment Rating - The report assigns an "Overweight" rating for the industry, indicating that the industry index is expected to outperform the CSI 300 index by 10% or more over the next six months [58]. Core Insights - In April 2025, the total retail sales of consumer goods reached 37,174 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 5.1%, slightly below the consensus expectation of 5.48% [10][12]. - Urban retail sales growth has outpaced rural sales for two consecutive months, with urban sales growing by 5.2% and rural sales by 4.7% in April [12][20]. - The report highlights a stable growth trend in both dining and retail sectors, with dining services totaling 4,167 billion yuan, marking a 5.2% year-on-year increase [20][22]. Summary by Sections Overall Retail Sales - April 2025 retail sales grew by 5.1% year-on-year, totaling 37,174 billion yuan, which is lower than the expected growth rate [10][9]. - Urban retail sales reached 32,376 billion yuan, growing by 5.2%, while rural sales were 4,798 billion yuan, with a growth of 4.7% [12][10]. Category Performance - Dining and retail sectors continue to show stable growth, with dining services maintaining a total of 4,167 billion yuan, and retail sales reaching 33,007 billion yuan, reflecting a 5.1% year-on-year increase [20][22]. - The report notes strong performance in upgrade and real estate-related categories, particularly in gold and jewelry, furniture, and home appliances, with respective year-on-year growth rates of 25.3% and 38.8% [29][22]. Price Trends - Both CPI and PPI showed a year-on-year decline, with CPI at -0.1% and PPI at -2.7% in April 2025, leading to an expanded PPI-CPI gap of -2.6% [31][37]. - Food prices decreased by 0.2% year-on-year, while non-food prices remained stable, indicating a mixed price trend across categories [37][31]. Employment Situation - The urban unemployment rate in April 2025 was reported at 5.1%, marking a decrease of 0.1 percentage points from the previous month [45][46]. - The report indicates that the unemployment rate for migrant workers is lower than that of local residents, with migrant unemployment at 4.8% [50][45]. Investment Recommendations - The report suggests focusing on the liquor sector, particularly high-end and regional leaders, as the white liquor segment is expected to recover due to supportive policies [56]. - It also highlights the beauty and personal care sector as a strong candidate for investment, especially with the upcoming "618" shopping festival showing promising performance for quality domestic brands [56].